A Luxury Yacht

[JoeRugby]

Using the old Revel 1:125 scale Calypso kit I have begun a WIF for my father.  Turning the old minesweeper/research vessel into a luxury yacht. 



First things first... tear it up !!!  The plastic decks will be tossed and replaced with Micro Mark's wood decking sheets.  Here you can see the cross members I installed for stabilty and some where for the deck to lay on to.



That blob you see in the bow is resin I poured in so the bow could be reshaped after the observation chamber was removed.  That part is going to be turned into the electronics mast.

The result...


Now onto the pilot house..be advised that everything is just held together with transparent tape for photo purposes...



This is the interior of the Grand Salon.  The window have been opened and a laminate of clear and stock styrene added for the bulkhead.  The lower portion resembles wood panelling...realy it does, my camera skills suck!



Here is the overhead of the Grand Salon with the hole for the skylight.



Here it is with the bridge overhead attached.

There are still quite a few bulkheads to be added as well.  Suggestions, coments or critique would certainly be appreciated.

[cthulhu77]

Beautiful work, though I cringed when I first saw that you were cutting up a kit I have been trying to get for a decade or so !  I am sure this build is going to be stunning.

[JoeRugby]

Evil Bay has got them...but they are going for $40 for a kit...there have been some built junkers on there you could grab for about $15 though.  It is a great subject!  I grew up watching JC every Sunday afternoon.  Not to mention the WIF possibilities!  Black Ops and I had an exchange over at Swannys place...consider a Horn Of Africa Anti-Pirate Squadron, with one of these bashed to accomidate all sorts of flying things and guns !!!

[BlackOps]

This is such a cool project.    I really want one of these but it's going to have to wait  I really like the bow modification.

[John Howling Mouse]

You've got true Whiffer's guts to bash that highly sought after kit----but what you're planning certainly seems worthwhile.   

Can't believe I let this kit slip through my fingers as a kid. I think I used some of its parts and chucked the rest.  D'Oh!   

[sequoiaranger]

At one time my brother had the largest movable yacht (larger ones were in-operable, more like a giant houseboats) in San Diego Bay, and was a pleasure to cruise on.

In a "sea" of military models, your civilian conversion stands out. Best of fortune to you!

[jcf]

Here is Calisto a minesweeper conversion done in 1954 and a sister of Cousteau's Calypso.


http://www.yachtmati.com/calisto-of-np-classic-yacht-astoria/index.htm

John Wayne owned a converted 'sweeper named Wild Goose, she's used a charter vessel today.

Jon

[cthulhu77]

can't help it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl7aM3nCqC0

[JoeRugby]

Ahh Mr. Rocky Mountain High...thanks for that !  hONESTLY, THE PICS WERE REALLY APPRECIATED AS THE KIT CAME WITH NO FLIPPING INSTRUCTIONS!!!

I will be buttoning up the pilot house this evening.

[Ed S]

Ahh Mr. Rocky Mountain High...thanks for that !  hONESTLY, THE PICS WERE REALLY APPRECIATED AS THE KIT CAME WITH NO FLIPPING INSTRUCTIONS!!!

I will be buttoning up the pilot house this evening.

Joe, I have one of those in my stash.  If you want the instructions, let me know, I can scan them and email them to you.

Ed

[JoeRugby]

Thanks Ed, but no worries, the directions are a bit of a moot point any way with what I am attempting.  Would you be willing to part with the kit though??? 

A bit more background as to how this whole thing started.  On December 26 my Dad asked my Mom to take him to hospital.  First things first, this is a guy who walked to work and was hit by a car, got up and kept going, finished the day and walked home! So going to hospital when there was nothing apparently wrong, like a one inch steel rod sticking out of him was the first shock.

So it turns out that he has Stage IV Colon Cancer.  His surgery was the first Wednesday in January.  I visited him and the Travel cChannel was on; apparently the only thing as bad as hospital food is hospital tv!

They were doing a show on luxury yachts.  I asked him what he would want his to look like...we boiled it down to one that would be enviro friendly...so later I will be scratching solar panels for it...he liked the idea of the Calypso as the basis.

So the project is two fold...mainly for Dad but also for me to keep my mind off other things.  I figured as the Chemo intensifies maybe the ship model will help him focus on other things like it has helped me.

I appreciate all of your suggestions of course as well as critiques.  But prayers would also be helpful...and also remember to tell your loved ones how you really feel about them every chance you get.

[JoeRugby]

The pilot house is almost finished.  Just need to add the thin acetate sheet for the sky light glass.  The railing on the upper deck is guitar string.

As an added bonus, even though it will not be included on the finsihed ship...is the helicopter.  Why orange, why not...it was the first thing I grabbed off the shelf!  I scratched the skids from styrene rod and used old PE fret for some interior detail which can not really be seen...



Next step will be hull work and the main deck...

[noxioux]

So, will there be any 1/125 bikini babes gracing her bow???